Top 25 NFL running backs whose careers were derailed too early
. 10,009 rushing yards, 66 touchdowns. New Orleans Saints. Ricky Williams. 21. player. 15
The arc of Ricky Williams’ career might be among the strangest of any running back of all time, beginning with the New Orleans Saints trading their entire draft to acquire him and ending with the former Heisman Trophy winner simply loving marijuana more than football.
While Williams had a robust career, currently 31st on the all-time rushing list, it’s easy to wonder how much higher he’d have ranked had he not missed the 2004 and 2006 seasons. He played 11 NFL seasons, but his career was broken up due to drugs.
Williams retired from the NFL for the first time, in 2004, after he was ineligible to play after failing a third marijuana test in nine months just prior to Miami Dolphins training camp opening that summer.
During his year away from football, Williams studied holistic medicine, before returning to the NFL the following season. But, was once again banned from the NFL in Feb. 2006, when he violated the league’s substance abuse policy for a fourth time.
When Williams was on the field, healthy, and focused, he was an absolute force. Williams produced five 1,000-plus yard seasons, including winning the rushing title in 2002 with a career-high 1,853 yards and 160 touchdowns. He rushed for over 1,000 yards in three of his first four seasons, and there’s no telling how much more productive he might have been had drugs not derailed his career.
- Career stats: 2,431 carries for 10,009 yards and 66 touchdowns, 342 receptions for 2,606 yards and 8 touchdowns
- 2002 first-team All-Pro
- 2002 Pro Bowler
- 2002 Rushing champion